John Ware Edgar

Sir John Ware Edgar (16 September 1839 – 4 June 1902 ) was a British colonial administrator in British India. He was Cachar's deputy-commissioner and held significant relations with the sovereign Lushai chiefdoms. He led the failed Lushai Expedition and participated in the Lushai Expedition.

Early life and education Edgar was born in 1839, the son of John Peard Edgar, Kensington and Jane Gibbings, daughter of B. Gibbings.

At the end of the expedition, Edgar submitted a report on 2 April 1872. His report outlined that before the British annexation of Cachar and influence in Tripura, the local kings had little to no ability to repel the raids and punish the tribes. As a result, the Barak Valley and surrounding borders became depopulated from repeated Lushai raids. Edgar criticised the European soldiers in the expedition and their lack of knowledge and familiarity with the Lushai Hills. As a result the policy changed to supplement Cachari soldiers and Gurkhas instead. He further outlined his dissatisfaction with the removal of William McCulloch. McCulloch had been transferred out of Manipur in 1867 and replaced by Dr. Browne, who was described as an inexperienced civil assistant surgeon lacking fine insight into Manipuri affairs. Brown's weak administration was blamed for the resurgence in raids and violence. The report ends with advice on using the Kukis pushed out of the Lushai Hills as a levy to guard the frontier and check on the Lushais.

1880 Lushai famine

After the cycle of mautam struck the Lushai Hills once more it was estimated half the population died of starvation along with pestilence and disease turning fatal from malnutrition. The governments of Assam and Bengal decided to aid the Lushais wth emergency food and rice. The relief operations saw food transported to the Changsil and Kasalong bazaars via river. Edgar was the commissioner of Chittagong and the chief secretary of Bengal. Edgar opposed giving food aid to the Lushais. Edgar described the Lushais as being in want of zu rather than in want of rice and to roll back the amount of food being given. Edgar even chastised Hari Charan Sharma who was in charge of famine relief operations in the Hills.

Later years Following further district work he became Commissioner of Chittagong in late 1885. Two years later he was appointed Financial and Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal, serving as such until 1892. For some months before his retirement that year, he also occupied a seat as an additional member of the Viceroy's Executive Council. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in the 1889 Birthday Honours list.

In later years he devoted his time to historical studies. He particularly studied in the history of Northern Buddhism and modern Latin Christianity.

He died at his residence, the villa Guicciardini in Florence, on 4 June 1902.